|
|||||
|
|||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
 |
 |
    |
|
|
|||
 |
|
||
|
|||
|
|
|
|
||||||||
|
Workers Prepare to Destroy Waste Left Over from Chemical Weapons Processing at Umatilla
Workers at Umatilla Chemical Depot in Utah have begun implementing plans to destroy “secondary waste” left over after the chemical weapons destruction process, the East Oregonian reported (see GSN, Nov. 7). “Secondary waste” is defined as anything that came into contact with a chemical agent and the containers the weapons are stored in. It includes “gray water” left over from work in depot laboratories. “Processing this solution is an important step forward in keeping our commitment to destroy secondary wastes generated during weapons disposal,” said Don Barclay, project manager at the facility. Barclay said disposal of the gray water and other materials is an important part of weapons processing. “Eliminating secondary waste is as important as destroying chemical agents,” he said, adding that the U.S. Army has promised that “it will not leave behind a legacy of waste.” Oregon’s Environmental Quality Department recently approved a permit to allow the gray water to be destroyed in incinerators used to process chemical weapons. Initial plans called for a separate incinerator to be built for secondary waste. The Army recently asked the department for permission to add a Carbon Micronization System. This system can destroy all carbon waste left over from the facility’s ventilation and pollution abatement system, according to depot official Michael Strong (Hal McCune, East Oregonian, Nov. 25). Meanwhile, an evacuation plan for the town where Umatilla is located was unveiled last week, the Hermiston Herald reported. The plan was drafted by the Morrow County Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program and financed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, according to the Herald. “The public is still being asked to shelter-in-place, which is the safest option,” said Maureen Roxbury, a spokeswoman for the emergency preparedness program. “For motorists, the evacuation route will take them out of town.” Roxbury said that response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita guided the group as they formulated the plan. “We are benefiting from those lessons learned,” she said (Karen Hutchinson-Talaski, Hermiston Herald, Nov. 22).
| ||||||||||
Back to top
